Performance And Limitations Flashcards
What are the four forces of flight?
Lift
Weight
Thrust
Drag
What is relative wind?
The direction of airflow with respect to the wing. Parallel but travel in opposite directions.
What is angle of attack?
Angie between the wing chord line and the direction of the relative wind; can be changed by the pilot
Describe Torque Effect
Related to Newton’s 3rd Law: while the plane and propeller are revolving in one direction, an equal force is trying to rotate the airplane in opposite direction.
Define corkscrew effect (slipstream)
Spirals around the aircraft when moving at high speeds, striking the left side of the vertical tail surface, causing plane to yaw left
Describe P-Factor
Propeller moves clockwise from cockpit. The downward moving blade meets the oncoming relative wind at a greater angle of attack than the upward moving blade, creating more thrust on right side, causing left yaw
What is load factor?
Ratio of total load supported by the airplanes wing to ( or divided by ) the actual weight of the aircraft and its contents.
Why is load factor important?
- Overloading an airplane can cause damage to the structure
- Increase load factor increases stalling speed
What is maneuvering speed?
The maximum speed the aircraft can fly without causing structural damage
105 knots
What causes an airplane to stall?
Exceeding the critical angle of attack, causes separation of airflow over the wing, resulting in sufficient loss of lift
What is a spin?
A yaw aggravated stall.
How do you recover from a spin?
P- power idle
A- ailerons neutral
R- opposite rudder
E- elevator forward
What is ground effect?
Condition of improved performance the airplane experiences when operations close to the surface of the ground
What is empty weight?
Weight of airframe, all permanent equipment and unusable fuel
What is gross weight?
Maximum allowable weight of both airplane and it’s contents
